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Anything You Can Do...
Overview This section details how Video Games have evolved over the years to grow into something that could keep up with Movies and TV, even to the point of doing the same things they can. This includes a brief look at how cutscenes evolved along with how the HUD in games have changed to reflect a more cinematic approach. Body Cutscenes Back in the times of the Atari 2600, AKA 1977 most games did make it past a single screen, a famous example being Space Invaders, and for a time, not many tried to. The point of many games was to endure and gain a magnificent score that your friends won’t ever be jealous of because friends are never envious. Pac-Man, despite technically having many screens still stuck to the format that was set. Games like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Adventure would try to break this mold, but the next step would come in the age of the NES. NES would most likely bring up thoughts of Super Mario Bros and Legend of Zelda, but that’s not what one of the bigger jumps towards more cinematic games was. The games in question was Maniac Mansion and Ninja Gaiden. Maniac Mansion was the first game to utilize what many of us refer to as Cutscenes, which are usually non-interactive sequences used to give backstory, further the plot, or explain game mechanics. Maniac Mansion utilized the game’s sprites within the cutscenes, complete with awkward movement. Ninja Gaiden took this a step further. Something you’ll notice regarding most of the cutscenes in Ninja Gaiden is that they use a different aspect ratio from the rest of the game, one that is distinctly cinematic. The cutscenes opted for newer sprites, ones that allowed the game to mimic the angles of films. However, while it borrows some elements from film, it is still very distinctly “video gamey”. Not many games followed this example until later, with laser disc games utilizing full motion video along with the N64 utilizing a game’s 3D models to accomplish what cutscenes accomplish. Games began to utilize pre-rendered cutscenes or cutscenes that didn’t have to utilize the in-game sprites or models. Both pre-rendered and in-game engine cutscenes would become more and more common as time went on. But that’s fairly obvious, so where in this history lesson does it connect with video games being more cinematic and being like TV shows and movies? The answer can be found in any game by Naughty Dog. If one were to ever describe a modern Naughty Dog game, they’d most likely describe it as either “cinematic” “like a movie” or “hilariously quippy and morbid”. If it weren’t for the R2 prompt appearing a few moments into the video, you’d think this was apart of some animated film, wouldn’t you (assuming you can’t tell the difference between the graphics of a game engine and CGI). Even then, the game seamlessly (for most) moves from a cutscene into gameplay. Even as gameplay, it still manages to maintain a cinematic feel to it. Almost as if a movie is being played, but that will be dived into later. The Cutscenes in games have began to adopt the media grammar of film and television, utilizing the cross cutting of scenes along with other techniques often reserved for film and television. Watch the Uncharted cutscenes and notice how many in-game “edits” there are, how many times a shot changes, how many times the camera changes angle. HUD The HUD (heads up display), similar to the GUI (Graphical User Interface), but not quite, has also gone through its evolution throughout gaming. In earlier games, it was always present and took up quite a lot of space on the screen. Going back to Space Invaders, the score was always present on the top of the screen. However, as games have moved to become more cinematic, the HUDs have changed to reflect this. Many games have the option to turn off HUDS altogether, leaving many played with a fully cinematic experience. The Uncharted Series doesn’t even have a real HUD, which aids in its cinematic feel. In some cases, there’s a limited HUD or HUDS that only appear onscreen when activated by certain gameplay actions. A good example of the evolution in modern times and over quite a short time span is the God of War games. Over the course of these games, it has gone from relatively obstructive and clunky HUD that was all over the screen, to a more compact, smaller, and definitely less obstructive HUD, which not only allow the visuals to stand out and be more noticeable to players, which is vital, but it once again, lend itself to a more cinematic feel. The Music Video Game Music in its early days was very unique, that is to say it didn't actually exist. Early arcade games and Atari 2600 games lacked any music and filled the atmosphere instead with the clunky sounds of archaic video game action and indulgence. But as time went on, Music became a staple for Video Games, but not always a requirement, similar to movies and television. Early Video Game music had a simplistic feel to it, as it often served to enhance the mood and feel of the game and designed in a way that it could eventually loop back around with the goal of playing forever and until the end of time. These days, Video Game music has gained a distinctly cinematic feel to it, producing themes and scores on parr with major motion pictures. For some, it even surpasses what would be present in a film. It shouldn't be a surprise, as many of these games have tapped many composers that work within the film and television industries. Take a listen. Episodic Adventures While Video Games were steadily becoming more like films, they simultaneously began to show that they can also be like television. Enter TellTale Games, which is famous for their style of story centric games that were released in a similar way that television shows were, that is, not all at once, but instead releasing content in "Seasons" containing "Episodes" over a span of time. Other Video Game Developers and Publishers have adapted this model, with games releasing expansion packs as "episodes" with notable examples being Destiny and most recently, Assassin's Creed Odyssey. All this without ever needing Cable. Pages Relevant to this Section * Cinematic Evolution of the God of War Series * The Evolution of Assassin's Creed * The Choices of TellTale Unlock the Next Section UNLOCKED >>'Story Time'<< Category:Main Bodies